General Definitions

AcceptanceNational Exhibitions that are approved by APS and International Exhibitions/Salons approved by organisations such as FIAP are run as competitions. The best images from those entered in the competition are selected by a team of judges to be exhibited in a public exhibition. Such selected images are said to have been “Accepted”, or are often referred to as the “Acceptances”.

Multiple AcceptanceAn image that has been “accepted” by more than one approved exhibition is said to have received multiple acceptances.

Double AcceptanceAn image that has been “accepted” into at least 2 approved exhibitions is said to have a double acceptance. To claim a double acceptance in an honours application, at least two of the acceptances achieved by the image must be included in the list of verified acceptances.

AwardAn “Award” in an approved exhibition/salon is considered to be anything higher than an acceptance. Images are chosen by the judges from among the “Accepted” images to receive awards, eg Medals, placings, trophies, diplomas, judge's choice awards, merits, HCs, HM etc.

Awarded ImageAny image that has received one or more awards in approved exhibitions.

VerificationIt is a requirement that all acceptances and awards claimed for Honours and Distinctions are proven and details checked as accurately recorded on applications. This is done by means of official salon catalogues, the FIAP Database or the official salon results shown on the salon's website. Verification is done by contacting one of the designated Verifying Officers around Australia.

Verifying Officer (VO)Within the Honours system, APS designate certain members around Australia to provide a verification service to applicants. These members will sight the acceptances in the catalogue as provided by the applicant, or another official source, and verify each acceptance and award as correctly shown on the applicants APS Honours or FIAP Distinctions application.

CatalogueEvery approved exhibition is required to produce a “catalogue”. The form in which Catalogues can be produced varies between exhibitions. They are officially produced by the exhibition and maybe a large hardcover book, booklet, DVD, downloadable document or website listing depending on the exhibition and the organisation(s) which grant them approval/patronage. Such catalogues must list the accepted and awarded images in the exhibition and may include reproductions of some or all of the images accepted or awarded. The catalogue is an official record of the exhibition/salon and must be retained as the means by which an applicant verifies/proves their results when they wish to apply for APS Honours or FIAP Distinctions via the APS.